POWER OF THE INDEX FINGER

THE VERDE WORD

Within our civilised and non-civilised world of our own and other nation communities there are a number of insane people, mad fanaticists, extremists, murderers and others of a similar ilk who feel their actions are both necessary and appropriate to promote a particular viewpoint or cause.  Thus, because of the large number of citizens the TV news media attract, this is the bad guys tool of choice for the promotion of their cause.

Those of us, being the majority of the populous, are regular in our habits of watching the news on television. Night after day, day after night, sometimes by habit or by being hooked in or enthralled watch the same video events a number of times from a media organisation such as Reuters, AAP etc. that is broadcast on different stations.  The film is the same, sometimes edited regardless of the TV station.

So, if you are like me and like to watch different news broadcasts on alternate stations to gain a more intelligent, international or local perspective, we still end up watching the same murder, torture, bashings and inhumanities many times. Sensibilities are attacked.

Due to the repeating nature of TV news, on one evening, we may watch the same piece of film on at least four TV stations.  Additionally, each TV station as a promotional strategy for their news, show bits of film: before the news as an 'introduction'; 'coming up' (at least twice); the news item itself often with the film shown more than once; and again towards the end as a 'what you missed' item. In other words, the same piece of film within 60 minutes is shown at least 4 times on the one station.  If we generally watch  news on 4 stations, which is what I used to do, this means that in the same evening we see the same atrocity a minimum of 24 times.  Bear in mind, this is only one news item.  Twenty four times?  Yep!

If one TV station has four similar news items (which they generally do) such as war in  the Ukraine, murder in Melbourne, shootings in Sydney and perhaps a car accident where a child or someone died, on the one station it is possible within a period of 60 minutes to view inhumane blood guts and despair at least 24 times during the same hour on the same tv station.

News????  You want news?  You want to know what is going in the world?  You do have a right to know.  Sure, we all do, it is our right to know and I will defend journalists and their work, but, I take exception to the number of times we watch such things over and over. Once or twice is enough.

Television stations say they play it extra times for people who have just got home from work?  Sure, but a minimum of 24 times in a hour?  Come on!

Do we want this?  Do we need this?  Do we really really need this?

If you watch 4 TV news shows a day, this means in one day you will view the same film footage of real life murder and human atrocities 96 times!

Ok, say we only watch TV during the week days that is, 5 days a week.

This means that over those 5 days over 52 weeks of the year, we viewing these atrocities, murders and crimes against humanity at the rate of:

480 a week = 24,960.  That is in one year!!!!

In one year, without realising it, you have watched and perhaps subjected your children and loved ones to 24,960 murders.  I repeat for emphasis: twenty four thousand nine hundred and sixty times!  

Ok, I hear you, I hear you.  You only watch the news once a day five days a week.

That still subjects the senses to only 1,040 murders and brain numbing violence a year.

You're doing good, you have cut your children down to experiencing only 1,040 of these atrocities a year.

I think it is good for children to see the news so they can be informed young people and give them an honest perspective of the world, but seeing violence of this type 1,040 times a year?  Come on!

Once a day is enough.  365 times a year or, watch TV news that is not exclusively sensationalist. 

Does non-sensationalist news without a hidden bias exist?  

I don't know, I have exercised the Power of my Index Finger.

I place my index finger in a horizontal position and push.

Off.

I ask the question, with the repeated shootings, bashings, violence, murder and mayhem on our streets, could the news services on television be a promoter of human atrocities because we are becoming desensitised and no longer feel shocked.  Do we feel "oh well, another murder 'ho hum'?"

I can't help but feel that if many more of us simply turned the TV off or changed the station when any form of violence was on TV, we might make greater inroads to a safer and more peaceful society.

By us as citizens turning off the repeated bloody news items that provide a forum for the promotion of bloody minded fanaticists and their atrocities, would that lessen their message getting through and therefore the media would be less of a tool for mad people's inhumanities?


Off.


Verde

COCKATOO CRAZIES

THE VERDE WORD

Australia is abound with many marvellous marsupials, creepy crawlies, reptiles and some seemingly crazy birds.  There have been much Australian published poems on the subject of our fauna such as Mad Jack's Cockatoo and The Spider from the Gwydir. 

Australians have very strong leanings towards our kangaroos, koalas and cockatoos.

Now, cockatoos are not just cockatoos, there are black cockatoos, the Major Mitchell cockatoo, Sulphur crested cockatoos just to name three species.

Being the city gal who has only ever spent a school holiday on my uncle’s farm many years ago, I have always felt the pull of the bush with its gum trees of eucalypts, soil, rocks, mountains and anything to do with nature.

I had sold my house and needed somewhere to live for a short time. 

With difficulty finding a house where my lovely ginger cat could come with me was difficult as rental properties which allowed animals were rarely found. The only place I could find for my little girl and myself was a country house on a corner block on the edge of a rural village.

The village had a population of about 300 and it was surrounded by much wide open space with the normal collection of farm animals, houses, cows, sheep, alpaca and of course, kangaroos.  The area also has a number of artisans and vegetable growers.

The house was not flash, to me it seemed more suitable as shearer’s quarters.  However, it was large, I could see for miles, I could walk to town, a vet was nearby, as was an historic church and, handy as anything, the cemetery was also just down the road.  There were a few times I would sit on the veranda watching a funeral as people walked from the church to the cemetery.  I did not think I would need it for my purposes, but sometimes I would visit, walk around the tombstones talking to everyone.

My lovely cat and I were in the settling in period.  She was rather frightened a lot because she had never seen so much 'nothing', so much open space.  She was a domestic cat, free to a good home and brought up in suburbia.  Besides this, she was ten years old and her eyesight was beginning to fail, as was her hearing, but, she always found her food...all day. I suppose she may have been considered a country cat because she grazed.

She was not familiar nor accustomed to country fauna.  She had never seen a cow, horse, tortoise, rabbits nor chooks.  She has seen a number of cockatoos and other native birds, but not as abundant as those in the bush.

Next door there was a pony, across the road horses were grazing, at the rear of our yard was a chook pen and early in the morning and late afternoon...in fact, almost anytime, rabbits were out doing whatever rabbits do just hippty hopping around.  I still don't think she saw the tortoise walking down the road.  Things moved slow in our village.

Our house had a raised veranda along one side facing the street in which was high electricity wires spread from pole to pole.  Nearby, in our yard was a very large 50 feet pine tree.  The pine tree was a favourite hangout for the very many cockatoos and was their preferred bed for the night.  I estimate there were at least fifty cockatoos resident in the pine tree.

One afternoon, I saw the most amazing event with those crazy cockatoos.  I had never seen it on TV nature progams,videos, online, in bird books or even for real, I had not even heard of it.  I tend to think that what these crazy cockatoos were doing may have been a particular local thing in our pastoralist area.

What I am about to tell you I feel is either totally unique or, I am too much of a city gal.

This story exhibits that all animals, especially these cockatoos can find solutions to life problems.

CRAZY COCKATOO SOLUTION

After a few days of torrential rain, an absolute deluge, the cockatoos left their pine tree and stood on the power lines running along the street.  They were flapping and squawking and general carrying on with the social things cockatoos do with their mates.

All of a sudden, one cockatoo still clinging onto the power line, fell forward hanging by his feet and begun flapping his wings, like flying upside down but hanging on by his feet.

Well, blow me down, another copied him, then another and another and so it went on so that at least 20 cockatoos were hanging upside down flapping their wings.

Then I saw it!  Cockatoos are mimics and copy others.  It only took one to start them off.

One cockatoo swung into a standing position on the wire, outstretched his wings, his feet loosely attached to the wire, fell forward and commenced rapidly flying in circles up and over, up and over again and again and again the wire very fast!

As I say, with his feet still attached, around and around and around and around the wire. Then a few more did it too.  

Then, the whole mob of cockatoos, at least 20 stated doing the same thing.  All hanging by their feet, wings outstretched and flying around in the wire in circles, up and over up and over up and over again and again and again whilst hanging on with their feet!

It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen!

What were they doing?  They had come up with a brilliant way of flying and flapping their wings whilst being stationary.  Why?  They were drying their wings!

I think this is brilliant!

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Often, solutions to a problem are driven by necessity, they may not need deep thought, advice from others nor the formation of a committee, team or group of mates to work it out because underneath it all, in our mind, our gut feelings or even our heart, we intrinsically or by intuition know the true answer and can solve problems or issues by ourselves.

By asking others for either advice or confirmation, it can cloud the issue.  When you have found the solution and solved the problem, does it not align with what your gut feelings or intuitions were telling you in the first place?

Trust yourself, the only one who really understands the issue and consequences of the final outcome is you. 

If you need to speak to someone about a solution, the best person are your parents because most parents who have their kids well being at heart, don't have any hidden agenda and are less likely to fabricate, or lie. Of course there is granny, but make sure she understands the issues at stake.  Or, go ask a cockatoo.

Like the cockatoos in rapid rotation around the electricity wires, they used their innate intelligence and gut instincts and solved the problem.  Following, examples based on experience from others, the big birds probably taught the younger birds by example.

Squawk..squawk squawk

 Verde

LOVE NEVER LOST

In life, we meet many people; we relate, commence loving relationships and form a union.  

With providence or synchronicity we meet the person with which we become one.  Many of us do not find ‘the one’ and some of us do.

Sometimes, the person we are supposed to meet in this life simply does not appear.  So, as a compromise, we form a relationship with someone who is similar to us, holds similar interests, lifestyles and ways of being and we are happy and content.

However, if someone enters our life and we feel immense love that is all encompassing and evolving into something very beautiful whilst brushing and stirring the rouge velvet of our very deep souls, we know that this love was destined for us both since the evolution of time.

We both know we are destined to spend not only this life together, but perhaps the next.

We both know, or feel we have known each other in a past life yet were not able to be together.

When the opportunity has occurred again in this current life, both know that opportunity must be taken with outstretched hands, both offering, holding and treasuring the others heart.

_________________________________________

  

It is very sad when two souls being deep in their love find that one or the other needs to withdraw.  However, upon a partner removing themselves from the relationship, the love does not cease.  

Once we love as deeply as Maurice and Olivia, there is no turning back. Those involved in love like this must move forward.

No matter how deep the love, in our heart mind and soul, we think of them every day.

Throughout the night, their image, voice, emotions, mannerisms and times spent together, pass through our sleep.

We never forget and forever remember and continue to adore, yearn and value the absent person that still remains the love of our life.

Love today like you’ve never loved yesterday or may love in the future.

Love is Never Ever Lost.

VERDE